According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the overall population of Nigerians who use digital payment has increased by 35%.
This was said by Dr Hassan Mahmud, Director of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Department, in a presentation titled “Implications of Trends in the Digital Financial Ecosystem for Monetary Policy Implementation,” according to Punch.
Mahmud, on the other hand, did not specify how long the increase took place.
What the CBN is saying
He said, “Nigeria recorded a high growth in digital financial channel utilisation, rising by approximately 35 per cent growth in the total population who carries out digital transactions.”
According to him, the use of other mobile platforms has grown at a slow pace.
He claimed there was a possibility of digital money replacing fiat currency as the major means of making retail payments, while explaining why there was a rise in current attention to digital payments.
Other reasons, he said, include the ability of digital currency to flow freely across international borders, fears that the emergence of digital money could distort money supply, change foreign exchange rates and the belief that the digital money ecosystem could improve monetary policy implementation efficiency, among others.
Mahmud noted that the use of improved digital financial services could increase affordability of financial services.
He said that it could also address difficulties in accessing loans in Nigeria.
According to him, other African countries such as Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco and South Africa had more developed financial systems which had propelled digital financial services growth in the region.
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Nairametrics reported that between 2015 and 2020, Nigeria’s payment system received around $500 million in investments due to increased level of confidence.
Also, Access Bank’s digital lending revenue has increased from N1 billion in the first half of 2019 to N5 billion in the first half of 2021, indicative of a growing appetite and increased adoption of digital lending.
